ENG vs IND 2018: KL Rahul, Murali Vijay Should Open in England - Sourav Ganguly

Former India skipper Sourav Ganguly has said he would prefer KL Rahul over Shikhar Dhawan to open the innings with Murali in the upcoming Test series against England.

Barring a few exceptions, Shikhar Dhawan has been Murali Vijay’s partner in recent years. KL Rahul had also opened but primarily as an injury replacement or sometimes when either of the openers lost their form.

However, Sourav Ganguly feels India should pin their hopes on Rahul and the ever-reliable Murali Vijay in the testing conditions of England. Ganguly’s assessment might be got influenced from Dhawan’s poor overseas record as well as Rahul’s current form.

KL Rahul has been in brilliant form since this year’s IPL. Playing for Kings XI Punjab, the highly-rated batsman slammed a staggering 659 runs in 13 games including a 14-ball fifty. He then got a chance in the one-off Test against Afghanistan where he scored 54. Rahul also proved his worth in the second T20I against Ireland earlier this week, slamming 70 off 36 balls. In the first T20I against England, he slammed a fantastic match-winning ton.

But while Rahul’s form is good, Dhawan has also been impressive. He scored 497 runs in this year’s IPL before scoring a swift century against Afghanistan.

In the first T20I against Ireland, he blasted 74. However, he could not play a big knock in the limited-overs format against England. Dhawan’s poor Test record overseas make things tough for him.

And Sourav Ganguly feels India should prefer Rahul over Dhawan in the upcoming five-Test series.

“I would go with Murali Vijay and KL Rahul as openers in the Test series. Shikhar Dhawan is a good ODI player, and he was in decent touch during the ODI series as well. However, when he opens in Test cricket in overseas conditions, he doesn’t have a good record, be it South Africa, England or Australia,” Ganguly told IndiaTV.

“In India, he scores hundred in Test cricket. Even in the last match against Afghanistan, he scored a hundred before Lunch and became the first Indian player to do so. So, it will be interesting to see the team management’s decision on this,”  he added.

The series will get underway on August 1 at Edgbaston.